Citi Simplicity® Card: One of the Best 0% APR Cards

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Editor's Rating

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The Citi Simplicity® Card is one of the best balance transfer cards around. It has one of the longest 0% Introductory APR periods of any card.

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The Citi Simplicity® Card is one of the best balance transfer cards around. It has one of the longest 0% Introductory APR periods of any card.

The Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever can be an excellent tool for consumers who wish to get their credit card debt under control. This card comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of first transfer–which is among some of the better offers we've seen–then a 14.74% - 24.74% (Variable) APR applies, based on your creditworthiness.

Review: The Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever Is A Great Option For Lowering Your Interest Payments

The Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever is a great option if you have a balance on an existing card and are seeking to pay it down quicker, and avoid interest. The 0% intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers gives you ample opportunity to put a dent in your debt. According to reports from the Federal Reserve, the average credit card APR for accounts that are assessed interest hovers at around 15%. If you have $10,000 in credit card debt and are making $550 monthly payments on an average card, moving the debt over to the Citi Simplicity® Card can save you as much as $1,255. On top of this, transferring the balance over will also cause you to be rid of the debt sooner than had you stuck with the 15% card.

There are never any late fees nor penalty APR on the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever. Most other cards charge as much as $35 dollars for late payments and can raise your APR as high as 29.99%. Keep in mind that other consequences for missing payments can still apply, such as damage to your credit score. We implore consumers to only treat this benefit as a safety net, in case they ever happen to forget a bill.

The one area where this card underperforms is in its lack of rewards. If you consistently maintain no monthly balance and pay on-time, the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever really doesn't offer much value. Under these circumstances, Citi and other card companies have a wide array of rewards credit cards that will earn you points, miles or cash back on all your purchases. If you're willing to settle for slightly worse terms, you can also opt for a balance transfer/reward card hybrid, such as the Chase Freedom®.

Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever Benefits & Features

The main benefit of the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever is the fact that it provides users with a good balance transfer period-0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of first transfer. With each transfer to the card, you will have to pay a fee of $5 or 5% of the transfer amount, whichever is greater - this is a standard rate, and is found on most credit cards of this type. After this promotional period ends, your APR will shift to somewhere between a 14.74% - 24.74% (Variable) APR.

Reducing Debt With the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever

One of the major reasons we like the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever is that the card can be used to help you regain control over you financial situation. Unfortunately, a scenario we see too often is a cardholder who has accumulated too much credit card debt and ends up spending most of their monthly payments paying off the interest, rather than reducing their total debt. That is where a card like the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever can help. By taking advantage of the intro APR offer new cardholders can transfer their existing credit card balance and begin using their payments to reduce their debt.

No Penalty Rates, Late Fees and No Annual Fees Explained

Marketed as "No Late Fees Ever", the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever does try to differentiate itself with how it handles missed or late payments. Most credit cards we've looked at will charge up to $35 for a late payment which may not be a lot but can add up if it occurs consistently. As its name suggests, the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever does not tack on any fees for late payments, just one small way you could save if you're in this situation.

Where the cards features are a big deal is in having No Penalty Rate. Card companies are generally prohibited from adjusting the interest rate on the card unless one of a few things occur. This list can include but is not limited to things such as making a late payment, exceeding your credit limit and having your payment returned. When this does occur however, your card company can raise the APR on your card, often to a rate that is significantly higher than the worst rate initially offered. Many cards we've seen have penalty APRs as high as 29.99%. Having your interest spike up to this amount can be a much larger cost, over time, than a simple $35 late fee. Therefore, the fact that the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever doesn't come with any penalty APR can be a real money saver.

How Does The Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever Compare To Other Credit Cards?

In order to help you determine whether the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever is a good fit, we took a look at how it stacks up against some of its competitors. Below we highlight the major strengths and weaknesses of each matchup.

The Chase Slate® is one of the few credit cards to waive the transfer fee as an intro offer on balances transferred within the first 60 days of account opening. As a trade-off, the introductory APR is one of the shorter ones on the market: 0% Introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then an APR of 14.99% - 23.74% Variable. As long as you are diligent about paying your credit card bill, and can pay off your debt in under 15 months, the Chase Slate® will be a better deal. In terms of other features, the Chase Slate® comes with the ability to monitor your FICO score, which can be a nice benefit to individuals working on building their out their credit history. Neither card offers rewards for shopping, making them both less valuable once the promotional period ends.

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card is very similar to the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever in that they offer the same balance transfers period–0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months from date of first transfer. After that, your APR on the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card will be 13.74% – 23.74% (Variable) and your APR on the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever will be 14.74% - 24.74% (Variable). The Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever is the more forgiving of the two for customers who might miss a payment every so often. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a balance transfer card to help pay off debt, then either of these cards will be a great help.

The information related to the Chase Slate® and the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever have been independently collected by ValuePenguin and have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

Comparison Tool

If you’re still having trouble deciding how the Citi Simplicity® Card - No Late Fees Ever compares to other offers, our interactive tool can help you reach a decision. By inputting your current outstanding debt, APR, and minimum monthly payments the tool below will calculate the estimated savings each of these balance transfer credit cards can offer you.

Joe Resendiz is a former investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs, where he covered public sector and infrastructure financing. During his time on Wall Street, Joe worked closely with the debt capital markets team, which allowed him to gain unique insights into the credit market. Joe is currently a research analyst who covers credit cards and the payments industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in finance.

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How We Calculate Rewards: ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. These estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.

Example of how we calculate the rewards rates: When redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth $0.0125 each. The card awards 2 points on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Therefore, we say the card has a 2.5% rewards rate on dining and travel (2 x $0.0125) and a 1.25% rewards rate on everything else (1 x $0.0125).

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the offers that appear on this website are from companies which ValuePenguin receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). The site does not review or include all companies or all available products. For more information please see our Advertiser Disclosure.